Figure 8

Anemone toxin improves the time-dependent infidelity of spike propagation on the main axons of cerebellar Purkinje cells. 5 μM ATX (a blocker of VGSC inactivation) was given to the middle point of axons between PC somata and axonal terminals. A) Top trace shows spikes recorded on axonal bleb, bottom trace shows somatic spikes induced by depolarization pulses (200 Hz) and middle trace shows the dV/dt values of somatic spikes under the control. Arrows under axon-recorded signals indicate the failure of spike propagation on axons. Calibration bars are 0.2 mV for axon spikes, 20 mV for whole-cell spikes, 20 mV/ms for dV/dt and 50 ms. B) Top trace shows spikes recorded on axonal bleb, bottom trace is somatic spikes induced by depolarization pulses (200 Hz) and middle trace shows dV/dt values of somatic spikes under the condition of applying ATX. Arrows under the axon-recorded signals shows the spike propagation failure on axon. C) shows spike propagation fidelity versus spiking time under the conditions of control (black symbols) and ATX (red; an asterisk, p < 0.05; two asterisks, p < 0.01; n = 8). D) illustrates maximal dV/dt versus spiking time under the conditions of control (black symbols) and ATX (reds; two asterisks, p < 0.01; n = 8).